Spaghettini with nduja

I had never heard of nduja until I read this article in the New York Times. It's a soft, spreadable, spicy salami from Calabria, Italy. I'll be damned if there's a cured and/or smoked pork product that I haven't tried. So, I went to the Ferry building and bought some from Boccalone, Chris Cosentino's saulmeria that specializes in "tasty salted pig parts." It's pretty much where I belong. They had some samples of nduja on toast that were magical. This dish almost never happened because my roommate saw my nduja in the fridge and almost stole it for himself. That's how good this sh*t is.


Ingredients (serves 4)
1 lb broccoli rabe, trimmed
1 lb. dried spahettini (or sphaghetti)
1 medium onion, minced
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
4 oz. nduja
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
extra virgin olive oil
toasted bread crumbs (~1/4 cup)
salt + pepper

• Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt generously. Add broccoli rabe and cook until tender, about 3 min. Transfer to ice water bath. Cut into 1/2 in pieces once cool (smaller than what I did).
  
• In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion, season with salt, and cook until soft, 8-10 min.
• Add nduja and stir, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon until meat falls apart.
• Add broccoli rabe, lemon zest, and stir to combine.
  
• Meanwhile, using the same boiling water used to cook the broccoli rabe, cook spaghettini until al dente, about nine minutes. Add a bit more water and/or salt if necessary.
• Mix spaghettini into the sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice. Top with bread crumbs.

Recipe courtesy of Chris Cosentino, article in NYTimes